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P. HENRICHS.

SEGTIONAL SHOW CASE. No. 267,426. Patented Nov. 14, 1882.

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Patented Nov. 14, 1882.

iINTTE STATES PETER HENRICHS, OF

SECTIONAL ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHOW-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 267,426, dated November14, 1882.

Application filed November 16, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER HENRrcns, a citizen of the United States,residing at Erie, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania7 haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Sectional Show-Cases; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsand the letters or figures of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to the construction of sectional show-cases forexhibiting various articles. My show-cases are intended principally foruse in stores on the counters for exhibiting line articles ot'merchandise; but their use is not coniined within such limits, as casesconstructed, in whole or in part, asI shall hereinafter describe themmay be used for bookcases, pigeon-hole cases, and wardrobes.

rIhe various features of my invention will fully appear in the followinggeneral description and claims.

My device is illustrated in the accompanying drawings as follows:

Figure lis a perspective view of a double case, the case being shown asopen. Fig. 2 is a like view of a single case. Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8are views showing details of construction, and will be fully explainedhereinafter.

The body of the case consists ofa stationary part, A, and a swingingpart, B. IVhen the case is double, as shown in Fig. 1, its stationarypart A is of double the width of that part in a single case, or aboutthat, andit is provided with two swinging parts B B. In other respectsthe details of construction may be the same. However, in the drawings Ihave shown the two cases constructed somewhat differently for thepurpose of illustrating alternative constructions of certain parts,which are, however, susceptible of application on either case.

In a previous patent granted to me May 8, 1877, No. 190,586, I show acase with a stationary and a swinging part. Much of my present inventionconsists of improvements on the construction there shown. Theseimprovements are as followszrst, in the construction of the stationarypart of the case, including its base and top; second, in theconstruction of the swinging parts or wings, including the manner ofhanging the same and overcomingfriction in theirmovement; third, in thecon- (No model.)

| struction and adjustment of the shelves. This latter is not in anysensean improvement on anything shown in said patent. y

The above-named improvements are as follows:

The stationary part of the case, whether single or double, isconstructed as follows: It is composed of a base, C, a body, A, and atop, D. The body A possesses no special peculiarities of construction.The base C differs from that shown in the patent referred to, in that ithas an extension, U,out under the wing, (or, if double, it hasextensions each way out under the wings.) This extension of the base isof very great importance, as it gives the lwhole case a firm base, andthe swinging of the win gs is not affected by any unevenness in thecounter or other object sustaining the case. Further than this, itenables me to hinge or pivot the wing wholly independent of the body A.The wings are pivoted by devices shown in Figs. 6 and 7 at the points bb on the extension C and the extension d of the top. The extensions Cextend the full width of the beyond, giving a solid and base-likeappearance. On these extensions I inlay curved inetallic tracks I I I,which come up flush with the top of the base. On the under side of thebottom ofthe wing are also inlaid similar metallic tracks, which are soplaced that they will overlie the tracks ou the base. One or the otherof these sets ot' tracks may be ofBabbitt or other frictionless metal,or both may be, it' desired. Even where both are of iron the effect inavoiding friction is very great.

If desired, friction-rollers may be used on the under side of the bottomofthe wing. In practice I nd it desirable to raise the track nearest thepivot very slightly above the others, especially at its inner end, as itprevents any tendency to sag the wing 'at a distance from the pivot.

The inner tracksthat is, the ones nearest to the pivotare constructed asshown in Fig. 8, where it will be seen that the lower one is providedwith a lug, i, at its outer end, and the upper one-that is, the one onthe swinging section-is provided with a catch, i. Vhen the swingingsection is thrown out so that it stands at or about at rightan gles tothe stationary section, these catches engage and prevent wing, andfinish with an ornamental molding IOO the case swinging farther out. Theobject of this is to keep the swinging case always over the extension Gof the base, and thus always sustaining the section B and preventing astrain upon its pivots. When thus constructed, the weight of theswinging section liever comes wholly upon the pivots, but is borne bythe base C', and the points of contact between these parts B and C arealways on the metal tracks. As before stated, the swinging sections arepivoted at the points b Z1 on the extension C and d. This makes theswinging section wholly independent ot' the body A. Then the swingingsections are sustained upon the base, as described aliove,they might behinged to the post ofthe body A, with far more likelihood ot' beingsustained than where the case B swings free; but such a constructionmust be weak, especially when it is necessary that the posts be verysmall, to give a proper finish to the case. By the method of hinging thecase B above mentioned the construction is very strong. The hinge I useto mount these is intended to give very great strength to the pivotalpoint. These hinges are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. I do not make any claimin this application to the hinge shown in these figures, but intendmaking it the subject of another application. Fig. 6 is a perspectiveview of the irons forming the hinge. Fig. 7 is a section on the line m min Fig. 6, and shows the base or top, as the case may be, upon which thepart l of the hinge is mounted. Part l ofthe hinge is let into the baseor top, as the case may be, and part 2 is let into the end ofthe sectionor wing B. The pivot-bolt is a headless screw, which passes through bothparts l and 2 and down into the wood below. Any strain upon thispivot-bolt by the action of the wing is sustained by the whole length ofthe screw and the wood in which it is set, and also by the partl and thewood in which itis set. The whole construction is very strong, and willsustain a great amount of racking without giving wayin the least. It ismuch stronger than it would be it' the pivot-point were a part of eitherofthe parts l or 2 and depended on their attaching-screws to sustain theracking, and it is also much stronger than it would be if the bolt 3were alone depended upon without the faeing-piece l. To hinge in thismanner it is desirable that the top of the body extend over the wingeither thc full width of the wing, as shown in my former patent, and inFig. 2, or it may simply extend far enough to give a bearing for thepivot and to cover the seam or joint and exclude dust. This slightprojection is shown at l in Fig. l. Such a construction as this gives avery tine et'ect, especially in doule cases, and it enables me to putglass tops in the wings, as at b b, which gives more light in the caseand adds to the beauty. Itis very advantageous to do this in doublecases. In double cases the central or stationary part is double thewidth (or may be) ofthe wings, and still affords free access, when thecase is open, to all the articles on exhibition, because access may behad from either side. This part being so wide, the central top partwouldbe very much shaded if the top D extended out over the wings, while ifmade, as shown, with glass tops on the wings the light is unobstructed.Besides this, it makes the wings lighter and makes them look more openand airy.

The construction shown in Fig. 2, so far as the base and top areconcerned, is intended more especially for cases where the molding` issilvered or nickel-plated. The object of it is to give as light andfragile an appearance as possible. It will be noticed that the glasspanels extend from the top to the base, no cross-rail being used eitherat the top or bottom. The base and top are finished with a moldinghaving at least two members. As shown it is an ogee. 0n the stationarypartt'. c., below and above the part A-this molding is solid, while onthe extension C only one member of the molding is used, and thecompanion member is upon the swinging section B. XVheu the case isclosed the molding is complete and uniform around the case. The realbase of this case is the part having thereon the member M of themolding, and so of the top. The parts L L and L L of the compartmentsbear the other member of the molding. In the stationary part thesemembers are joined and in the swinging part they are separate; but whenthe case is closed the molding all around the case appears solid. Infact, when the case is closed it is hardly observable that it is asectional case. This ei'ect is helped by the manner of hinging theswinging case, as no hinges are visible. This construction is asapplicable to the case shown in Fig. l as to any other. Otherwise thanas just described the construction in both Figs. l and 2 is the same.

The shelves are made of racks and arc very light, both as to weight andappearance. They are constructed as follows: F F are end crosspieces,and are made of cast-iron. They are so formed as to be very light. Theirinner rib or ange is provided with square notches f', into which fit theends ofthe longitudinal strips Il, which also have a kerf or notch, h,which receives the rib. A pin, L, passes through the strip H, which isof wood, and is bent up against the under side of the piece F. This pincan be turned around at pleasure from the piece F, as shown by dottedlilies in Fig. 5, and the strip H can thereby be easily removed. Therack when thus constructed is very strong.Theouterlongitudinalstrips,G,areformed with a rabbet, as shown in Fig.l, at g, and in Fig. 3. These strips are thicker than the others, so theiiange or rib formed by therabbet sets up above the face of the otherstrips, H. This has the effect ofa bead along the edge ofthe shelf andprevents things from slipping otf. This is very useful, especially onthe wings, as a sudden opening or closing of one of them might knockthings oi the shelf. This rib is also useful when it is desired to lay apane of glass on the IIO IIS

rack, whichI often do to form a tight shelf for ping ledge while beingopened and when at small articles and still maintain the light, airyappearance. (This is shown in Fig. 3.) The bead g in such a constructionof the shelf serves as a protection to the edge of the glass as well asa bead along the edge of the shelf. These shelves are sustained andadjusted in the case as follows: E (see Fig. 4, also Fig. l) is acorner-iron, which is attached in each corner of each compartment of thecase. It is provided at intervals of about an inch with ledges e,

. which form sockets for the points c of the end pieces, F, of theshelves to rest in. The corner-piece E is of cast-iron, and is made verylight, and is so fashioned as to be ornamental. It may be nickeled,bronzed, or otherwise ornamented, and give a handsome effect. It will bereadily seen that the shelf can be adjusted at various heights byputting the ends c in the proper sockets e.

Of course I am aware that book and other shelves are adjusted by placingthe sticks on which they rest in different notches in cornerpieces inthe case; but it will be observed that my construction is different, inthat a part of the shelf itself enters the notch, and that nocross-strips are used for the shelf to rest upon; and, also, by thesocketshaped form of the notches andthe form of the ends e', which formthe corners of the shelves, the shelf, when in place, is held so itcannot sag or move laterally.

I am also aware that cases have heretofore been made with movablesections, having molding on their base, that corresponds to the moldingon the case proper, but are not supported by said base when open. Mydevice differs from that, in that the molding on my swinging section isa segmental section ofthe molding on the base which supports theswinging section, and when opened carries the section with it, leaving,however, the lower part upon the base.

I am also aware that doors have been pivoted in the overlapping andnnderlapping ledges ofa case, but not sustained by the lower ledge whilebeing opened. I am also aware that doors have been sustained while beingopened, but allowed to hang from the hinges while open. My devicediffers from both of these, in that I provide an underlapping ledge andpivot the swinging section at the rearand near the stationary section,so that when the sections are separated the one opened will have beensustained during the swinging movement and while at rest. Therefore WhatI claim is- 1. A show-case having a stationary section, with its baseunderlapping the swinging section, which is pivoted at the rear of theoverlapping and underlapping parts near the Stationary sections, asdescribed, so that t-he movable section will be sustained by theunderlaprest, either open or closed.

2. A show-case having a stationary section, with its base provided withfriction-tracks and underlapping and its top overlapping the movablesection, as described, which is pivoted at top and bottom in theoverlapping and underlappng parts, and when opened is sustained by theunderlapping part, substantially as described, and for the purpose setforth.

3. In a sectional show-case, a stationary part having a base, G, withextension G', anda top, D, with an extension, d, in combination with aswinging section, B, having a glass top, b,

mounted on said extensions C and d, substantially as shown.

4. A show-case havin g a stationary section, with its base underlappingthe swinging section, which is provided with a segmental molding, thatcompletes the molding upon the case when the section is closed, and ispivoted at the rear of the overlapping and underlapping ledges, near thestationary sections, as described, so that the movable section will besustained by the underlapping ledge while being opened and when openedor closed,the whole combined and arranged as set forth.

5. In a sectional show-case wherein the swinging section is mounted uponan extension of t-he base of the stationary section, the combination,with said base and swinging section, of curved frictional tracks,arranged snbstantially as shown, and having upon one of said tracks, andits companion, catches, substantially as shown, for preventing theswinging section swinging beyond the underlying base.

6. In an exhibition-case, a shelf consisting of a rack formed ofmetallic end pieces, F, having a rib or flange with notches f, andlongitudinal strips H, having notches h and clasps 7L', substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

7. In an exhibition-case, a shelf consisting of a rack havingmabbetedlongitudinal strips Gr g, and intermediate longitudinal strips, H,

the upper surfaces of which are on the -same ICO IIO

